The Portal by Andrew Norriss Read Free Book Online Page A

what, twenty, thirty times? But I’ve never seen this.’
    â€˜Seen what?’ asked William.
    â€˜Moonlight,’ said the General. ‘Not many planets have it, you know. Your father always told me it was a very special sight and he was right. Quite extraordinary.’
    William said nothing. He had never really thought of moonlight as extraordinary, or as anything except… moonlight, but if the General wanted to stand and look at it, that was fine with him.
    â€˜Thank you.’ The General turned to smile at William. ‘Now, I think I really must get back to those sandwiches.’
    Back down in the station, General Ghool settled himself on a sofa in the sitting room with the plate of ham sandwiches on his lap.
    â€˜So what’s all this about your parents going missing?’ he asked between mouthfuls. ‘Your father didn’t say anything about leaving when I came through last Monday.’
    â€˜He didn’t say anything to anyone,’ said William, pouring out a fresh mug of tea. ‘We just came home from school on Thursday and found he wasn’t here. Mum had gone as well.’
    The General frowned. ‘They didn’t leave a message? To say where they were going?’
    â€˜They didn’t leave anything,’ said William, and found himself describing how he and Daniel had eventually used the emergency phone, the arrival of Uncle Larry and then the astonishing discovery that his father was the manager of a Federation Star Portal.
    The General listened to the story, munching solidly through the sandwiches as he did so, and only occasionally interrupting with a question.
    â€˜Most mysterious,’ he said, as William ended by describing how Uncle Larry had gone to Byroid V because that was the only place his parents could be. ‘But I’m sure he’ll sort it out. Larry’s not as stupid as he looks. Now…’ The General put the sandwich plate on the table in front of him. ‘Your father sometimes gave me something called
chocolate.
Would you happen to have…?’
    â€˜Sure,’ said William. ‘No problem.’ And it was while he was in the kitchen, getting a box of Black Magic from the stores, that Emma announced the return of Uncle Larry.
    Uncle Larry came swooping up through the Portal and William could tell from his face that the news was not good.
    â€˜Complete failure,’ he said, shaking his head in exasperation as he stepped over the side of the Portal. ‘Not a trace of them anywhere. Nobody’s heard anything, nobody’s seen them…’ He pulled on the robe William offered him. ‘I can’t understand it!’ He led the way out to the main lobby and along to his bedroom. ‘I’ve checked all the incomings, I’ve been through the computer records, I’ve spoken to everyone at the station… and there’s nothing. Not a trace of them. The manager swears they haven’t been through!’
    Uncle Larry pushed open the door to his room and William followed him inside.
    â€˜Does that mean they didn’t go to Byroid V after all?’
    â€˜They
must
have gone there!’ Uncle Larry took his suit from the cupboard. ‘There’s nowhere else they could have gone, but if they did…’ He forced his face into a smile. ‘Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll find them. It’s just going to take a bitlonger than I thought. How’s everything been here? Bricks went through all right, did they?’
    â€˜They were fine,’ said William.
    â€˜Any messages for me?’ Uncle Larry was pulling on his shirt.
    â€˜The only message was the one saying General Ghool was going to arrive and –’
    â€˜General Ghool?’ Uncle Larry froze. ‘He’s not supposed to be here for two days!’
    â€˜No,’ said William, ‘but he came early because –’
    â€˜Came?’ Uncle Larry’s voice went up a